Magictofu

Why not just make a bisque instead?

Isn't it the same thing with non-organic foodstuff? I mean, look at most supermarkets and the ratio seems about the same to me.

I love that idea! Talking about mushrooms... Lobster mushrooms could work but the texture will be on the crunchy side. Other mushrooms can be used in many substitution dishes: - Chicken of the woods: chicken - Chanterelles: chicken - Portobello: burger - King oyster: some seafood - etc.

We think alike ← Great minds, and all that! So... what do you do with tofu that's magic? ← Q. What is white and goes through walls? A. Magic tofu

We think alike

Hearts of palm

This topic is getting more and more interesting! I always wondered what this "goo" was made of... it does not look like blood. Anyone knows the answer? And about the ions... how exactly do they help? I am still a bit confused.

Most sausages are great because of their fat content but I assume one could make a decent chicken sausage by adding pork fat to it... or by encasing a chicken paté preparation (think about mortadella or baloney). I remember eating great smoked trout sausages a few years ago but I don't recall how they were made. This is an interesting thread and I can't wait to read other people's suggestions.

I had the feeling salt added something else than saltyness to stock but did not have the guts to mention it without being able to explain it. Could someone offer more explanation or a reference on this? I quickly browsed McGee's brick but did not find anything.

I own a bad cast iron wok. It is bad because the base is quite small for the wok and quite thick compared to the walls of the wok itself. I like the idea of using the stove to pre-heat the wok... this way, the whole wok will be hot. I might try this sometime this week. I am still sold to the idea of using a cast iron wok. Mine just has a design flaw. Cast iron does magic when you need some sustained heat!

A lot of people add flavourings to their stocks (mirepois, bouquet garni, etc.) but I only add chunks of unpeeled onions since my stock is used for many types of cooking. When cooking chinese food for example, and especially soups, I find the taste of carrots, celery, thyme, parsley and bay leaves very distracting if not unpleasant. These can be added last minute anyway for other dishes where they would shine. I now do add salt to my stock. I used to avoid doing this for the reasons mentioned above but adding a little salt allows you to better taste your stock when cooking which is part or the pleasure of making stock. Also, if you want a flavourful stock, do not simmer for long hours... (2 hours is plenty) your stock might not gelatinize but the flavour will be much better. If you want stock to add body to a dish (say in a sauce or in a lentil dish), then simmer for 6-8 hours. Finally, don't be afraid to add a little bit of meat... bones give body but meat gives flavour.

I went out in the woods today to see if I could find anything. This is not one of my usual spots and I did'nt find anything. In fact, I only found a gyromita... nothing else. We have a late spring this year and the weather has been really dry so it might not be a very good year for morels aroud here. Looking for mushrooms carrying a newborn with you proved to be another challenge. It does restrict our choice of itinerary but it is far from impossible which makes me very happy and exited about the new mushrooming season!

Is there decent pizza in Ottawa? I always make my own, but time is of the essence here and my sisters have been making pizza noises. ← This is something I'd love to know as well... I have been living in this city for 4 years now and I am still looking.. Otherwise, if Ceylonta (Bank and Sommerset) do take out, it i worth a try. Our small chinatown is not great but you can always find something good there. For instance, you can easily stop at a BBQ and get your duck, pork or chicken that you can complement with whatever you fancy that day. Along there lines, there are also a portuguese rotisserie in the Market (forgot the name) and an African one on Rideau )also forgot the name)... I might investigate a little bit further if I find the time.

I don't know about Egyptian perch but Nile perch is quite common and I suspect these two are the same. I am not a big fan of the fish but it has a relatively firm texture and you can get huge thick filets. It is also the fish at the center of the documentary Darwin's Nightmare.

Agree with you... especially considering that raw morels are slightly toxic I had some really good result with a morel butter sauce I made for valentine day this year using some of my dried morels from last year. But the classic morel cream sauce, although a bit out of fashion, is still, in my mind, one of the easiest and most delicious way to savour these little wonders. I had less interesting results with brown sauces though.

Past years I have cooked a few dishes: - quiche - sauteed fiddleheads (often dripping in butter) - cream of fiddleheads (this was truly disgusting though ) - etc. This year, I think I am going to pickle some I tend to get greedy when picking wild vegetables or mushrooms so I end up needing to preserve leftovers anyway. (edited for readability)

Thanks for the link Marlene... from what I just read there, I might be cooking them as too high a temperature... I will try to experiment with other vegetables soon.

The fiddlehead season is about to begin here and I do plan to pick a few of these beautiful wild vegetables this year again. My partner loves them but I am not as crazy as she is about these. Maybe it is because the only way I find them palatable is cooked, almost confited, in huge amount of melted butter. Any ideas/advices to share on making the best use of this year's bounty?

For some reasons, I only cook morels in sauces or as garnishes... I love the way the can perfume some sauces. I am curious to see how you cook them because frankly I feel like I am not too adventurous with my mushroom although I did try a candied morel creme brule once as well as tea candied jelly tooth.

I agree with you that some things are not supposed to be low cal but I have seen beautiful oven baked chips... they were everywere as garnishes in the 80s and 90s. After looking at your chips though... I suddenly have a weird urge to fry potatoes! (that burger looks awesome too!)

Probably because I bought myself a new mandolin, I decided to make homemade baked potato chips today. I sliced my potatoes very thinly, then added a bit of lime juice, salt and pepper for flavour and cooked them in the oven at various temperature and with varying amount of oil. I did a total of three batches: - Lttle oil and cooked at 450 - Little oil and cooked at 350 - More oil and cooked at 400 None of these worked... my chips were either burnt or not crisp at all. Some partly developped that great transluscent appearance but were often burnt around the edge and soggy in the center. Any help at improving my chips is more than welcome. A last note, I used Yukon Gold potatoes because that's what I had... but I would love to make chips using taro, carrots, beets and other roots vegetables... so any advice on these would also be appreciated.

Make a puree and used them in various recipes: - I have done very succesfull pea flans in the past... I can easily imagine pea souffle (with a nice cheese to complement the flavour) although I never tried. - You can also make a sauce with peas and herbs... great with fish. - Soups - Pasta fillings (with a mint, lemon and thyme butter sauce... hummm ) - Baby food

Ok... what you call fasle morels are mushrooms in the verpas familly... I know a few people eating them as well but they should still be considered slightly toxic, especially in large quantities or over long periods. I thought you were talking about some of the gyromitra varieties which we all call false morels here. They are also eaten by some but cause more than a few visits to the hospital every years and can potentially be deadly...

Are you really eating false morels? You know these are toxic?

Thanks for the explanation! I might try to use what is left of my crab butter in a hollandaise sauce for a Sunday brunch.